Sunday, December 18, 2011

SCREWCAPS ON WINE GAINING ACCEPTANCE

More wine drinkers now say they're OK with screwcaps on their wine bottles instead of cork. That's the message from a recent study conducted by Wine Intelligence and included in its 2011 Closures Report.

The report says overall acceptance of screwtop closures for wine bottles among American wine drinkers has hit a new high of 70%, up from 59% in 2008. Women and younger consumers - between the ages of 18 and 34 - are most likely to accept a bottle with a screwcap while men and consumers between the ages of 45 and 54 still like to pull the cork rather than twist off the cap.

People still seem to prefer cork closures overall - either natural or synthetic. Natural cork is still the most-preferred closure for wine bottles among those surveyed. Similar results were found among wine consumers in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Richard Halstead - COO of Wine Intelligence and the author of the report - says, "It's clear that the screwcap still has some way to go to win over the mainstream wine drinkers in America, but it looks like the process is starting.”